Nestor Cortes expects to be on Yankees World Series roster, even if it's a long-term health risk

NEW YORK (AP) — Nestor Cortes expects to be on the New York Yankees' World Series roster against the Los Angeles Dodgers after throwing two innings of batting practice and pronouncing himself recovered from an elbow injury that has sidelined him for more than a month.

Cortes said he plans to pitch even if it risks a long-term injury.

“If I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it,” he said.

Cortes threw 28 pitches on Tuesday on a sunny afternoon with an unseasonably high 80-degree temperature (27 Celsius), sitting down for a half-inning while Tim Mayza faced hitters. Cortes said an hour later he felt normal levels of soreness.

Cortes has been sidelined since Sept. 18 because of a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. The 29-year-old left-hander jogged to the mound from the bullpen, his likely Series role.

“My expectation is to be on, for sure, or at least be considered,” he said.

The Yankees are weighing whether to carry 13 pitchers on their 26-man World Series roster. New York had 12 pitchers and 14 position players for the AL Championship Series against Cleveland after going with 11 pitchers and 15 position players for the Division Series versus Kansas City. The World Series roster must be submitted to Major League Baseball by 10 a.m. PDT on Friday, about seven hours before Game 1.

“If he’s going to be added, we’d probably need to be at 13,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “It would be hard to add him with any type of restrictions that he has and take a pitcher off. We definitely can’t run him like some of the other guys in the ’pen.”

Cortes made one relief outing during the season, his first since 2021. He followed Clarke Schmidt and threw 4 1/3 innings in a 2-0 win at the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 7.

Los Angeles features left-handed-hitting Shohei Ohtani leading off, right-handed Mookie Betts batting second and left-handed Freddie Freeman hitting third, though Freeman's status is unclear because of an ankle injury.

“There's going to be a time where either Game 1 or Game 2, where there’s going to be a lefty role for me or a left lane,” Cortes said. “If I throw four to eight pitches, I might be ready to go the next day.”

Ohtani is 2 for 12 against Cortes with a pair of singles, an RBI and one strikeout.

“I never throw changeups to lefties, but I'll probably throw changeups in this circumstances," Cortes said. “I’m going to have to bring out the kitchen sink on him and not only him, but all the other lefties that they have in that lineup.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was initially dubious of Cortes returning. Cortes lobbied to be included in the Division Series and League Championship Series.

“The conversations were really clear,” Cortes said. "Cash was no from the get-go and then he obviously knows that I want to pitch in this, even in the DS, starting from the DS, but that wasn’t realistic."

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